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Illustration + Type - Two traveling exhibits bring world to Savannah

SCAD students Kate Asanov and Michael Jordan take time be for classes begin to enjoy the Type Directors Club 52nd the new show thats up in Poetter Hall.

Savannah Morning News

SCAD students Kate Asanov and Michael Jordan take time be for classes begin to enjoy the Type Directors Club 52nd the new show thats up in Poetter Hall.

Savannah Morning News

Work from the "Fabulous Yellow" put on by the Teatrio International Illustration Competition at Red Gallery.

Savannah Morning News

Work from the "Fabulous Yellow" put on by the Teatrio International Illustration Competition at Red Gallery.

Savannah Morning News

Principal Typeface: Helvetica Regular and Custom

Savannah Morning News

Work from the "Fabulous Yellow" put on by the Teatrio International Illustration Competition at Red Gallery.

The Savannah College of Art and Design is welcoming two traveling exhibits this month that feature the winners of two international art competitions - one in children's book illustration and the other in type and typography.

Mohamed Dawani, a professor of illustration at SCAD, is a judge and local liaison for the Teatrio International Illustration Competition based in Venice, Italy.

Panelists culled through 500 entries from 500 artists last year to pick 30 who represented the best of children's book illustration. The show is at Red Gallery on Broughton Street.

Joe DiGioia, a professor of graphic design at SCAD, organized the local showing of the Type Directors Club's 52nd Traveling Exhibition at Poetter Hall on Bull Street. The club was founded in 1946 and is intended to raise the standards of graphic art. The club selects exceptional work in the fields of typography, calligraphy and hand lettering.

We talked to DiGioia and Dawani about their respective shows. Let's start with Dawani. He characterized "A Fabulous Yellow," the title of the children's book illustration show, as "eye candy for children."

SMN: First, give us some background on the competition.

Dawani: Many years ago, Teatrio made a call for entries so that it could create a body of work, promote the genres and select the best illustrators in their fields. Artists submit work based on a theme and according to a strict format.

SMN: Who enters the competition?

Dawani: The competition appeals to illustrators who are not yet well known. It gives young artists a chance to exhibit their work around the world. The age group is typically between 20 and 35, and they are from Mexico, Canada, the United States, France, Italy, Spain, South Africa, Japan. And those are only the ones I can remember right now.

SMN: What's the format?

Dawani: All these artists have to create six illustrations depicting a story according to the theme without using words. Sometimes the theme is concrete; sometimes it's abstract. Entries can be imaginative and surreal. And the illustration can be in any media.

SMN: What do you look for as a judge?

Dawani: The nine judges look for storytelling, which is No. 1. They have to tell a story through pictures with a beginning, middle and end. Also the technical aspect - how well the media is used, how polished it is. Then composition. They have to follow a format of space. We look at how well they used the space. The fourth is character. How exciting the character they have made and how attractive and lovable it would be for children.

SMN: What are the highlights of this month's show?

Dawani: It's variety. These are the best children's book illustrators from different cultures. It's something you don't see in Savannah. In fact, you don't see that in America. Each country has its own aesthetic. In Europe, illustrators tend to more gutsy and experimental. American illustrators are more classical. In Mexico, they use a lot of folk art influence. This show showcases artists with one thing in common with different ways and different media used to create that aesthetic.

The typography exhibit features graphics designers from around the globe who beat out hundreds to be in the show and to have their world printed in a catalogue to be distributed to designers worldwide.

The show travels to cities in America as well as Lisbon, Paris and others. When we talked to Joe DiGioia, we learned there's more to creating, say, the letter S than meets the eye.

SMN: Give us some of the conceptual background of typography.

DiGioia: First is the importance needing to express ideas with symbols in unique ways. In ways that someone would want and need to use. With the digital revolution of the mid-1990s, the proliferation of fonts grew tenfold. Before that was hot-metal press and photo-typography. Computers brought new techniques and new usages. The idea of wanting and needing type grew, too. If I had a new brand needing an identity, I might call a typographer.

SMN: So how do you create a letter? Take S, for instance.

DiGioia: First you have to identify what the general S-ness us. What constitutes an S - weight and variables of weight is a good example. Most people don't deal with that. They deal with regular, bold or italics. In graphic design, however, we look at different levels of communication and therefore we have the need to think about weight. So need is followed by ideas, about what the type will reflect. Once the details are worked on paper, then we move into the digital realm.

SMN: So I have something like shampoo, and I want to get across the idea that this shampoo is fresh and new and young and organic, I look for a type that reflects that. That's what you mean by ideas, right?

DiGioia: Exactly. Brand-specific ideas help conceive the typeface that expresses those ideas. You have to figure what makes an S fresh. What would a young S look like, an organic S and new and fresh S? That's what this show showcases, all the different ways that types are used to express ideas.

SMN: Which types should we watch out for at the show?

DiGioia: Notice the range of student work all the way to noted and celebrated professionals. There are also a couple posters I've been drawn to. They are really beautiful books that need to be experienced one-on-one. Look through the beautiful layering and the way the type is used to lead you to the next page.